It has been an important topic of discussion within Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences for some time: the large number of drop-outs among students with a previous education at MBO level. Out of every 100 immigrant boys with an MBO Diploma, only 16 make it across the finish line. Not surprisingly, this was the main topic of discussion during the annual opening of the academic year at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Of the native Dutch girls with an MBO Diploma who started their study programmes in 2009, 52.1 per cent managed to obtain their Bachelor diploma within five years. For the previous cohort (those who started in 2005), this success rate was 62.8 per cent. Of the native Dutch male MBO graduates, the success rate was 44.9 per cent (50.4 for the 2005 cohort). Of the immigrant girls with an MBO Diploma, 26.4 per cent managed to obtain an HBO Diploma (compared to 39.1 per cent for the 2005 cohort), and of the immigrant boys, only 16.4 per cent managed to do so (compared to 32.2 per cent for the 2005 cohort).

This means we need all hands on deck.

Or do we?

Jan van Zijl, chairman of the MBO Raad (The Netherlands Association of VET Colleges), and one of the speakers during the opening ceremony of the academic year, made a number of remarks to put things into perspective. ‘Over the years of economic crisis that are now behind us, the number of MBO students moving on to HBO increased by 13 per cent. In times of economic downturn and increasing youth unemployment, continuing their education offered much better prospects to MBO students than staying at home unemployed. Now that our economy is recovering, entering the workplace may have become much more interesting for this particular group. Additionally, an MBO student who drops out of HBO still has an excellent diploma to fall back on. That might make the decision to drop out quite a bit easier than it would be for someone who only completed their secondary education.’

But there is little to be put into perspective regarding the 16 per cent (of immigrant male MBO students who graduate at HBO level), Van Zijl adds. ‘The schools should absolutely be worried about that, and they are.’ Alderman Hugo de Jonge (responsible for education, youth and health care) was also shocked when he first learned of these numbers. ‘I did not want to believe it. I thought: perhaps we can downplay the issue, but it turns out we just have to accept it as is. However, I do appreciate your honesty in dealing with this topic.’

Appearance
The chairman of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Ron Bormans, takes blame where blame is due. ‘The students are dropping out of our institution. The bar has been raised, and we have stricter requirements regarding research skills, for example. That is why MBO students are dropping out, and that is why it is our turn to do something. I am alarmed at the fact that a university of applied sciences in a city like Rotterdam might well be on its way to becoming white. During the introduction, the classes are a reflection of Rotterdam society, but the graduation ceremonies are becoming ever whiter. Knowing students’probable chances of success by purely looking at their appearance is something I do not believe is fair to the students. I believe that is a far more serious issue than the conclusion we can draw currently: that we are not going to meet the performance agreements we made with the ministry regarding study results.

‘We are not going to meet the performance agreements regarding study results.’

‘The labour market needs these students. How could we possibly accept only white women graduating from PABO? The vehicle for emancipation, which HBO has traditionally been, is faltering. The escalator going up from MBO has instead become a downward slide.’

What to do?
Van Zijl of the MBO Raad sees a number of solutions in involving HBO with the new qualification structure within MBO (the basis for better and more flexible linking of MBO programmes to the labour market), in the tightened requirements for arithmetic in secondary education, as well as a summer programme that MBO and HBO should work on together in order to make for a smoother transition from MBO to HBO.
‘To start with, we talked to our teaching staff,’ says Bormans. ‘They told us what we should be doing.’ The board listed five lessons learned from these discussions, which are to become policies.

LESSON 1: Quality in the classroom through lecturer empathy
Empathy is the keyword, says Bormans. ‘Students want to feel that their lecturers understand them. That way you can also give students a stern talking-to if they are not committed to their studies, because empathy does not mean: being overly caring or cuddling. There is a lot of room for improvement here!’

LESSON 2: Properly organising education
Bormans: ‘We are too tolerant of mistakes in company processes (grade administration and scheduling, for example). This is an area where we should focus on quality, which isn’t always the case currently.’

LESSON 3: Offering MBO students fair chances
‘We have to be more selective about the transition from MBO to HBO. Not every MBO Diploma should grant students access to every single HBO study programme. Being more selective is more fair, because we know preparation programmes are hardly ever successful,’ says Bormans. ‘We should work together with MBO programmes to create lists of transitional programmes, and discuss them in The Hague.
‘MBO lecturers should once again collaborate with HBO lecturers, and the level of education in MBO will have to increase in certain areas. We will also be developing transition programmes.’

LESSON 4: Thinking about alternatives
Bormans: ‘For a number of MBO graduates it might be better to start working instead of continuing their education, and perhaps we should be doing much more in the area of associate degrees.
‘The kick-off interviews could be much more defined, especially when it comes to considering alternatives. We do not give enough attention to students during these interviews, especially those who need it the most (at the end).’

LESSON 5: Better facilitate lecturers
The lecturers are the ones doing the work, so there will be more teaching staff in classrooms, employment policies will focus on diversity, a proper introduction procedure for new colleagues will be introduced, a newly designed didactic course – originating in Rotterdam – will be introduced, and MBO education will introduce lecturer internships.
These are our ambitions for the new academic year, laid bare. A fresh start.

Dorine van Namen

8 Responses to Annual opening of the academic year: ‘Graduation ceremonies are becoming increasingly white’
1. SANANE says:
03-09-2015 at 8:55 am
I’ve figured out your formula for writing articles: slightly procative/sexual, misleading title and ALWAYS RUBBISH

2. M. PRINS says:
03-09-2015 at 10:54 am
@1 Sanane, if you don’t like the articles on Profielen, I have some excellent advice for you: don’t read them (anymore). Try it, it will save you a lot of headache. Good luck!

3. SANANE says:
03-09-2015 at 11:09 am
@2 M. Prins, if you don’t like the responses on Profielen, I have some excellent advice for you: don’t read them (anymore). Try it, it will save you a lot of headache. Good luck!

4. IZAAK says:
03-09-2015 at 11:22 am
Hi Sanane,
What exactly do you think is rubbish?
regards,

5. MARIUS ENGELSMAN says:
03-09-2015 at 1:04 pm
Dear Sanane,
What exactly is pro(vo?)cative/sexual about this article? What about the title is misleading? And what rubbish are they telling us?
With kind regards,
Marius Engelsman
(a lecturer who likes to learn)

6. M. PRINS says:
03-09-2015 at 2:31 pm
@3 Sanane: I like reading the articles on Profielen, as well as the responses. I do not claim I do not like the responses. I think most of them are worth reading, so I take that rare response that I find unappealing for granted. So there is no headache over the responses on my part. But if someone believes the articles on Profielen to be “always rubbish”, it seems to me this problem is easily solved for that person by simply not visiting the site anymore (and to ignore the magazine).

7. NOTES says:
03-09-2015 at 8:43 pm
The fact that a student is coming in through HAVO does not mean the person is a good candidate to start a study programme. I could name some situations, from my own study programme, where an MBO student managed to achieve excellent results compared to someone coming in from HAVO. This article is using terms like ‘white ladies’. It almost seems as though dropping out is genetically determined. There is far too much discussion on native Dutch vs. immigrant, white versus ….. etc. It is a controversial subject, and the problem remains unanswered. How is it that MBO students are more likely to drop out compared to HBO students? It is important to keep in mind that not all basic resources are equal for all students. When a student drops out, we should primarily be looking at those resources and not (always) specifically at previous education and/or whether the student has a western or non-western background. Far too much emphasis is put on that last part. Furthermore, it is also important for lecturers to take a critical look at their own selves. Yes, there are strict requirements, but not equal opportunities. Students are challenged, and there is very little interaction with other students based on the expectations lecturers have of ‘some students’. These high/low expectations will lead to a Pygmalion effect. Taking action based on the other person’s expectation. I vividly remember a lecturer’s comment: ‘Out of that group of immigrants, not many will remain by the end of the year’. Unfortunately, all too often people speak about the students, instead of WITH them. Wouldn’t it be far more effective if the students were involved in this discussion? It is about the students, after all. Effective education is about applying the three basic needs; relationship, competence and autonomy. Unfortunately, not every lecturer is aware of this.

8. NEXUS 5 says:
03-09-2015 at 10:24 pm
The use of words like native Dutch and immigrant bothers me. Colloquially, everyone who isn’t ‘white’ is labelled as an ‘immigrant’. According to the definition of the word, I am a “non-western immigrant”, because one of my parents was born outside of the EU. I will never accept this term, nor will I ever use it. This is discrimination based on race, and people with various backgrounds are all grouped together. These statistics tell us nothing.